The Meaning of 1 Kings 6:3 Explained

1 Kings 6:3

KJV: And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.

YLT: As to the porch on the front of the temple of the house, twenty cubits is its length on the front of the breadth of the house; ten by the cubit is its breadth on the front of the house;

Darby: And the porch, in front of the temple of the house, was twenty cubits in length, in front of the house broadways, and ten cubits was its breadth, in front of the house.

ASV: And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the porch  before  the temple  of the house,  twenty  cubits  [was] the length  thereof, according to the breadth  of the house;  [and] ten  cubits  [was] the breadth  thereof before the house. 

What does 1 Kings 6:3 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 6:1-13 - The Plan Of The Lord's House
The Temple was twice the size of the Tabernacle-ninety feet long by thirty feet broad, and forty-five feet high. The plan had been given to David by revelation, 1 Chronicles 28:11-12. Seven years and a half were consumed in its erection. It was completed in sacred silence, 1 Kings 6:7. The awful sanctity of the shrine would have been violated if its construction had been marred by the harsh and violent sounds that generally accompany the mason's toil. "Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprang." In nature, God works so silently that we do not realize His activities.
The central motive was to provide a place worthy to be called the house of God. Israel was now ruled by a king, but he was viewed as the organ and instrument of Jehovah. It was fitting, therefore, that the King of kings should have a dwelling-place among the people of Israel. The tabernacle of God was with men. He dwelled with them on the earth. The Temple was, moreover, the type, first of the body of Jesus, John 2:21; then of each believer, 1 Corinthians 3:16; and lastly of the whole Church, Ephesians 2:21-22. Each of these is the dwelling-place of God, and the innermost chamber-the Holy of Holies-is meant to be the throne-room of the Shekinah of His presence, Leviticus 16:2.
1 Kings 6:1-38 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 6

1  The building of Solomon's temple
5  The chambers thereof
11  God's promise unto it
15  The ceiling and adorning of it
23  The cherubim
31  The doors
36  The court
37  The time of building it

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 6:3 mean?

And the vestibule [was] upon in front of the sanctuary of the house twenty cubits long across the width of the house ten cubits [and] the width of [the vestible extended] from the front of the house
וְהָאוּלָ֗ם עַל־ פְּנֵי֙ הֵיכַ֣ל הַבַּ֔יִת עֶשְׂרִ֣ים אַמָּה֙ אָרְכּ֔וֹ פְּנֵ֖י רֹ֣חַב הַבָּ֑יִת עֶ֧שֶׂר בָּאַמָּ֛ה רָחְבּ֖וֹ פְּנֵ֥י הַבָּֽיִת

וְהָאוּלָ֗ם  And  the  vestibule  [was] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אוּלָם  
Sense: porch.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
פְּנֵי֙  in  front 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הֵיכַ֣ל  of  the  sanctuary 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הֵיכָל  
Sense: palace, temple, nave, sanctuary.
הַבַּ֔יִת  of  the  house 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
עֶשְׂרִ֣ים  twenty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: עֶשְׂרִים  
Sense: twenty, twentieth.
אַמָּה֙  cubits 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַמָּה 
Sense: cubit—a measure of distance (the forearm), roughly 8 in (.
אָרְכּ֔וֹ  long 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֹרֶךְ  
Sense: length.
פְּנֵ֖י  across 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
רֹ֣חַב  the  width 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹחַב  
Sense: breadth, width, expanse.
הַבָּ֑יִת  of  the  house 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
עֶ֧שֶׂר  ten 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: עֶשֶׂר 
Sense: ten.
בָּאַמָּ֛ה  cubits 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַמָּה 
Sense: cubit—a measure of distance (the forearm), roughly 8 in (.
רָחְבּ֖וֹ  [and]  the  width  of  [the  vestible  extended] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֹחַב  
Sense: breadth, width, expanse.
פְּנֵ֥י  from  the  front 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הַבָּֽיִת  of  the  house 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.